The Well Known Stranger
by FaithlessGirl
Summary: It was a little game she enjoyed playing probably way too much. T/G
1. Prolog

"Have fun with that perfect little family you have!"

_Perfect family_… yeah right!, Jack nearly snorted out loud while waiting for his taxi, as those words haunted him. He was going home after going out with his buddies, like he did every day for the last 10 years now. A perfect family…that was what everybody was seeing when they looked at the Bolton family.

As an outsider all they saw was the seemingly perfect love story they presented. Jack meet his wife Lucille in high school, where they had an instant connection. They were the High School Sweethearts of East High which seemed to be punctuated with the child they got right out of high school. Of course they married and were happy ever since, watching their son growing up to be smart and an athlete extraordinaire. The perfect family indeed, as they proved every time they were in public.

But Jack knew better. They weren't perfect. In fact they were a far cry from perfect.

It wasn't that he didn't love his wife anymore; it wasn't even that his son was not the perfect son everybody seemed to think he was. No, that wasn't the problem, the problem was that even though he did love his wife, there were no sparks anymore. And even though his son was the perfect son every father could wish for, they just couldn't form a real father-son bond. Maybe it was because he wasn't trying hard enough, but it also could be because he just didn't know how to do it. He did try everything that had worked between him and his father, but with Troy there seemed to be always an emotional distance that he didn't know how to bridge.

And then there was that "little" problem his wife had with the alcohol, Jack mused as he settled into the taxi and told the driver the address to his home. He wasn't sure how much she exactly drunk daily but he knew it was far too much to not be addicted. He wasn't even sure if she knew that he was aware that she was drinking herself into a stupor every day. He was ashamed of himself that he didn't take the matter into his own hands, to stop her from destroying herself. He was ashamed of how weak he actually was that he couldn't talk to her or plead with her to get help. All he hoped was that Troy had no idea about it, that Troy somehow didn't notice the empty bottles all over the house.

Jack sat back into the seat of the taxi while thinking about when things had gone downhill. He remembered the shock they had when they learned that Lucille was pregnant at 18 but he also remembered the joy they felt, that he felt. It did change their entire plan for the future. Originally, they wanted to go to college together, graduate and start a family after they managed to find their place in life, preferably after they managed all the traveling they wanted to get done. But they quickly changed it to plan B which consisted of having the child and Jack would just find work a few years to provide his little family with the essentials they needed to live, they would go to college later when the kid was a little bit older. Well that didn't work out. After four years Jack was still working as assistant coach at East High while Lucille would stay home, tending to their son's needs, and at the same time, do some little jobs all around town.

It was then the first time that Jack felt the need to escape and to join his buddies who were enjoying their single lives in the bar. It was then when Jack started finding the bottles. He knew that Lucille was unhappy. He could feel how her joy was dimming with every day passing by, but didn't know how to change that fact. So he pretended that everything was ok and kept going on with their lives. He pushed all their plans to travel to the back of his mind and just kept living on.

Now, 10 years later, things hadn't changed much. Jack was head coach of East High's basketball team as well as teaching PE. Lucille was still staying home all day and tended to the household.

Troy was doing well in middle school; in fact he was in the top 5 in all his classes. He was on the basketball team of his school and by far the best player they had. He had three good friends, the outgoing and loud Chad, the nice and calm Zeke and the smarter-than-he-looked Jason. These four where a tight group with Chad as the leader even if Troy was his equal by far. But for some reason Jack couldn't fathom the reason why, Troy let Chad lead the group.

Jack sighed as his home of 14 years now, came into sight. He was tired of pretending that everything was peachy. He smiled at the taxi driver and paid his fare, all the while thinking about how he could change something about the current situation he spent 10 years pretending didn't exist. As he walked toward the front door he frowned when he heard some subdued yelling. Walking faster, he reached the living room and felt his heart breaking as it shattered into a million pieces.

There stood his son, in front of his obviously drunk wife with a look on his face that would be imprinted into Jacks mind forever. The face was void of any emotion, which wasn't entirely uncommon for Troy but it was the eyes that held the emotion. His eyes burned with coldness, despair, guilt and resignation. Jack never saw such a look on anybody, nevertheless on a 14 year old boy. It was a look he never wanted to see again.

Then Jack glanced at his wife, who was red in the face from all the yelling she was doing, her eyes were glazed over and the entire room wreaked of alcohol. Jack looked at his wife, really looked and he could see emotions on her face he had never seen before. There was hatred and resentment as she yelled at her only son she should love.

Neither of them had seen Jack yet.

Suddenly the yells shouted by his wife, registered into his mind.

"IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT. HOW I WISH I NEVER HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO YOU. YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHING. I HATE YOU!"

And then in slow motion Jack saw Lucille raising her hand and hitting Troy harshly on his face. Troy wasn't even trying to defend himself.

"Lucille!"

Both occupants turned to Jack and to his horror he could see that Troy's face was red all over. This wasn't the first time she had hit him today. Suddenly so many little details felt into place, why Troy was so introverted from time to time, why Troy never really opened up to anybody, his many bruises he always found excuses for.

Just when he opened his mouth again he saw Lucille hitting Troy again and this time being caught unaware, he fell backward. Helpless, Jack could only watch as Troy fell backwards, straight onto the couch table. And then if only for a second he could see the blame in his son's eyes.

* * *

AN: So here it is. Thank you cuzimbored for nagging me and for beeing my beta. Thank you at adcgordon as well, you know why. Love you both.

this is my first story with more than one chapter, so please tell me what you think? pretty please?


	2. The Beginning

A.N. So here is chapter 1... Thank you for all the amazing reviews... Keep them comming ;)

* * *

Chapter 1

Troy Alexander Bolton was bored, which in itself was never a good thing. But there wasn't much trouble he could get into as he watched the kids mingle around him. How his father managed to get him to the 'young adult party' was a mystery even to him.

He was wearing a simple black shirt, which was tight around his bulging biceps and tight black jeans. Those probably weren't the adequate clothes for a party where the age range was reaching from 10 to 16 but they got his point across. He was looking dangerously handsome, but it wasn't only his clothes that caused that look. It was his stance, his whole attitudes that lead to the impression that this boy wasn't someone you'd want to mess with. He saw more than one girl check him out but they never approached him. Exactly what he wanted. He wanted to be left alone since he wasn't in the mood to flirt with some meaningless person he never would see again. Sighing he was looking at his drink which he spiced up as soon as he took a sip from it. As it was now he was having a pleasant buzz which helped to ignore those poor people embarrassing themselves at the karaoke part of the party.

As he was taking another sip from his drink he was thinking about his friends at home. He had exactly three people he trusted without a doubt. Chad, Zeke and Jason, his best friends. Those were the only ones he ever let take a glimpse behind the stoic mask he keeps up at school. He never ever showed any emotion other than cold amusement, indifference and anger at school -- which probably was the reason the whole damn school treated him like a king. Not that he was going to complain about it, since it had its perks. It helped that his father was his coach at school too and that Jack was feeling guilty.

Troy's mood darkened considerably when he thought of the reason why his father was feeling so guilty. It was a year and a half now but he still felt as if it was yesterday… he was wondering if that ever was going to change. He still could feel his cheeks burn where his own mother had hit him again and again; the only difference this time was that his own father had witnessed the whole scene.

Apparently it was the last straw his father needed. After that night everything changed in the Bolton household. His dad moved his mother to a rehabilitation center where his mother was treated now. The first time he had visited her was also the last time. He was only there because his father had pleaded under tears that he go and give her another chance. As soon as he stood before her he could see that nothing had changed between them. She was still blaming him for everything that had gone wrong in her life and he was sick of hearing that, so he turned and run to never return. Well at least he didn't plan on returning…but as they say…never say never.

His father was feeling guilty as he confessed to Troy a few nights after that event. He knew that his wife was drinking and he had done nothing to stop or help her. He never even thought that she was actually hitting her own son, whom she had loved so much. And it was eating his father from the inside that he had let things get that far out of hand. While he was listening to his father break down he just stood there showing no emotions, as it was common from him after that night. He just didn't know how to deal with his father's guilt so he just stood there and watched his father coming apart. They had never talked again about that night, just going on with their life.

This was the reason he was here in the lodge on New Year's Eve away from his friends who were having the party of their life, with no doubt. His father made it a habit to spring surprises on him to calm his guilt somewhat. This was such a surprise. A nice ski trip to Colorado, just the two of them. Of course Troy jumped at the chance to get his old snowboard out of the attic and in action; he had to admit he had missed it.

Sighing again he looked up and let his piercing blue eyes, which were hiding behind his bangs, sweep over the crowd of excited kids. That was until his eyes fell onto a pair of brown eyes who were staring right back at him, with a look of barely contained interest and to his surprise, lust. He let his eyes sweep over her body and he could feel his libido reacting to that curvy figure which was barely concealed behind that dress she was wearing. As he let his eyes wander over her body he also could see that he had an effect on her.

As he locked eyes with her again he could feel something between them that wasn't there with other girls. As he watched her sultry lips form into an alluring smile as she watched him and beckoned him over to her, he couldn't help himself and let a small smirk slip.

When he finally stood in front of her he could smell her sweet perfume. He leaned down to her and brushed his lips against her ear as he said "Hi." to her.

As he waited for her reaction he could feel his anticipation rising.

"Why hello." Was purred into his ear.

Maybe he wasn't going to be bored much longer.

* * *

Gabriella Anne Montez needed to get laid, which in itself never was a problem. But she just wasn't the girl who had one-night stands. She actually snorted out loud, which brought her some raised eyebrows from the people mingling around her, but what girl was she?

Gabriella smiled, stirring her drink. It was a little game she enjoyed playing probably way too much. With each different city she moved to, she got herself a new personality, played a new role for the gullible people around her. It helped her to entertain herself, since she never stayed long enough to actually make real friends. She had her acquaintances but never a real friend. Well except maybe in New York where she actually stayed for 6 months, which was a record for her.

She smiled again remembering the role she liked playing the most. It was in Kentucky where she stayed for 3 months and she played the shy nerd. Now that was funny. Since she was quite smart she had no problem working the nerd part. She just had to walk around and always carry some books for everyone to see. The trick was that she just changed the cover of those books so that they looked like actual school books. In reality those were novels she actually enjoyed to read. It was the shy part that she really had to work on. Since she was in general a confident person who had no problem with telling someone exactly what was on her mind, she had to really work hard on keeping the shy role. That was the part that made the entire game so exciting for her. It was one of the hardest roles she had ever played; that's why she was actually happy that they had to move again after 3 months.

Then there was the other role she also really enjoyed playing, even if she got to play this role only for 2 months. The little sexy vixen, which was what she had dubbed that role. It was right after Kentucky, so she had to go from shy and timid to uber confident and sexy. She had no problem with the uber confident but the sexy part had really taken some time to get used to. Her wardrobe really got stocked up in Chicago where she was buying the necessary clothes. It helped that her mother wasn't that interested in Gabriella's life as long as the grade was where she wanted it. So Gabriella worked really hard since she wanted to get laid as often as possible. Let's just say that some guys in Chicago are still missing her and her talent.

Still stirring her spiked punch she thought back to why she ever started playing this little game. After her father died when she was 10 her mother had to work more. Unfortunately for Gabriella, this meant moving around a lot. It didn't matter how long they were in a city the command to move could come any day. At first Gabriella protested, she didn't want to move around; she wanted to stay with her friends she worked hard to get. But it was no use and eventually Gabriella gave up on trying. She wasn't trying to make friends; she wasn't trying to make her room in her new 'home' comfortable. She didn't even say a word when her mother came to her shortly before the vacation they had planned with that one look that meant that they had to move yet again. They were three weeks in Bismarck. Well it was good because Gabriella was quite tired of playing the Ice-Queen, her latest role, since it wasn't really helping her to hook up with someone.

This time, her mother had said, this time is different. They promised they wouldn't make Maria move again until Gabriella graduated. Gabriella wanted to believe her Mom, she really did but that would mean that they would have to live for more than one year and a half in one and the same city. And if they looked at the track record the chances of that happening was very close to zero. The longest they managed to stay in one city was six months, six freaking months.

She still had to decide which persona she was going to put forward in Albuquerque, where she was moving next. She was trying to put something new forward but she practically used everything she could think of already. She already played the friendly, the snob, the cheerleader, the brainiac, the hippie, the bad girl or the wild fang. And she needed something that would allow her to hook up without it seeming to be out of character. As out of character as she could get. Oh the irony. Well she would decide when she actually was in her new school.

Taking a deep breath she was trying to not let her frustration at the situation show as she looked around the people surrounding her. The music was the furthest from what she listened to. She was thinking about leaving when she saw him.

He was leaning against the wall, while looking absolutely beautiful. His entire attire was black and tight which showed off his perfect body. As she checked him out she couldn't help but notice the powerful attraction she felt which was a first for her. When he looked up from glaring at his drink, she could see his piercing blue eyes. When those eyes locked with hers she felt suddenly powerless. She noticed that her body was reacting to his intensive stare. She felt a shiver going down her spine as he boldly checked her out and as he looked into her eyes again she could see that he wasn't all that unaffected as well. That made her smile and as she beckoned him over she could see a small smirk working itself onto his perfect face.

When he finally stood in front of her, she could smell his cologne, which intensified when he leaned into her. When Gabriella felt his smooth lips brush her ear she shuddered involuntarily and when she felt his velvet husky voice she had to close her eyes.

"Hi."

Gabriella leaned her face so that her teeth could graze his ear lobe as she purred her own greeting to him.

"Why hello."

Well maybe she could get laid earlier than she thought.

* * *

A.N. So here it is. I am working on chapter 2. And sorry if it is so short. And thank you to cuzimbored and adcgordan...


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